Apparatus for varying the number of courses in knitted articles



July 7. 1964 3,139,742 APPARATUS COURSES IN KNITTED ARTICLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 1, 1962 5 6 A A 7% A a MW 5 w A m A c an I M 8 O 6 5 v 8 MW 0 7 5 5 Z 6 WW M WM. o \l I 51 um 2 2 E m B m I \U: m I I|I.I.IIIHII. TII WO i #HHHHH HHL .l d 5 @W HH WV 5 OJ 5 Flu a 5 0 Z 2 5 6 I z 3 5 2 a m INVENTOR.

a w A L E b m W M M mw M i L n m Q J m L y 7, 1964 w. H. LEWIS 3,139,742

APPARATUS FOR VARY LNG THE NUMBER OF COURSES m KNITTED ARTICLES Filed Aug. 1 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 efmmm ms k A-r'roR HEYS y 7. 1964 w. H LEWIS 3,139,742

APPARATUS FOR VARYING THE NUMBER OF COURSES IN KNITTED ARTICLES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug.

W3LUAM HOWARD Laws INVENTOR. BY EdmflamtXMA-nig A-r-roRNEYs July 7, 1964 w. H. LEWIS 3,139,742 APPARATUS FOR VARYING THE NUMBER OF COURSES IN KNITTED ARTICLES Filed Aug. 1, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 as 74x WILLIAM HOWARD Lawns INVENTOR. 934/ f1 -7 BYEMBMMAAMMW kr'romms United States Patent 3,139,742 APPARATUS FOR VARYING THE NUMBER OF CUURSES IN KNITTED ARTICLES William Howard Lewis, Asheboro, NC, assignor to Acme-McCrary Corporation, Asheboro, N.C., a corporation of North Qarolina Filed Aug. 1, 1962, Ser. No. 214,041 6 Claims. (Cl. 66-155) This invention relates generally to an improvement in circular hosiery knitting machines of the type having a pattern chain which is normally moved in a continual step-by-step manner to control the number of courses knit in selected portions of the hose and thereby control the size of the hose produced. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved pattern chain idler means adopted to periodically stop the normal step-bystep advancement of the pattern chain for predetermined periods and to thereby vary the length of the leg and/or foot portion of the hose produced thereby.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 83,422, filed January 18, 1961, and entitled Apparatus for Varying the Number of Courses in Knitted Articles, now Patent No. 3,054,281, issued September 18, 1962.

As explained in said copending application, the conventional circular hosiery knitting machine has a racking pawl which normally operates continuously to move the pattern chain forward a distance of one-third of a chain link with every four revolutions of the needle cylinder so that when the chain is advanced one link, twelve courses of knitting are formed. The pattern chain is normally provided with the proper number of links to produce a hose having a given number of circular courses in the leg and a given number of circular courses in the foot. When it is desired to knit hose having longer or shorter legs and/ or foot portion, it is the usual practice to add one or more links in the proper portion of the pattern chain to increase the number of courses knit in the leg and/or foot and to remove one or more links from the pattern chain to decrease the number of courses knit in the leg and/ or foot produced.

This conventional procedure of adding and removing links from the pattern chain is costly and time consuming and the invention set forth in said copending application overcomes the disadvantages of adding and removing links from the pattern chain to change the size of the hose being knit. However, it has been found that when the knitting machine is operated at high speed the pattern chain idler means disclosed in said copending application does not always operate fast enough to raise the racking pawl at the proper time, i.e. before it starts its racking stroke. Also, in the apparatus disclosed in said copending application, the pattern chain idler control member is operated by direct mechanical connection with the cams carried by a pattern wheel. Thus, the cams carried by the pattern wheel must supply the working force for moving the control member to lift the pattern chain racking pawl out of racking engagement with the teeth of the pattern chain racking ratchet wheel. With this arrangement it is diflicult to obtain uniform and accurate step-bystep movement of the pattern wheel, particularly when the cams are acting on the linkage to lift the pattern chain racking pawl to an inoperative position.

With the foregoing in mind, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide pattern chain idler means which is of the general type disclosed in said copending application but which has been improved to provide more accurate control of the idling of the pattern chain racking pawl.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved pattern chain idler of the type described in 3,139,742 Patented July 7, 1964 which the cams on the pattern wheel merely act as signaling means for controlling the operation of electrically operated means which is operatively connected to the pattern chain racking pawl and which acts to immediately move the pattern chain racking pawl back and forth between operative and inoperative positions in response to signals from the .cams on the pattern wheel.

It is a more specific object of the present invention to provide an improved pattern chain idler of the type described in which the cams on the pattern wheel operate an electric switch which controls the operation of an electric solenoid that is operative to immediately change the position of the pattern chain racking pawl.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of the righthand side of a circular knitting machine with parts broken away for purposes of clarity and showing improved pattern chain idler applied thereto;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the knitting machine, looking at the right-hand side of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view of the lower portion of FIGURE 1, showing the pattern chain driving pawl lifted to inoperative position by the control member;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged isometric view of the righthand end portion of the pattern chain idler pawl control member and illustrating the manner in which the operating solenoid and control switch are supported;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the pattern wheel, looking in the direction of the line S 5 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged horizontal sectional View taken along the line 6-6 in FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 7 is a schematic wiring diagram showing the electrical connection between the electric switch and the solenoid.

The improved pattern chain idler of the present invention is shown attached to a Scott & Williams Model KN circular hosiery knitting machine, however, it is to be understood that the present improved pattern chain idler is not to be limited to use with this particular machine as it can also be used in connection with other types of circular knitting machines which have a pattern chain and a racking pawl for imparting movement thereto. The conventional parts of the knitting machine which are shown in the drawings will first be described and then the parts of the improved pattern chain idler of the present invention will be described.

Referring particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2, the knitting machine includes a base 20 which is supported on legs 21 and the base 20 supports a main frame 22. The upper portion of the main frame 22 supports a lower bed plate 23 and an upper bed plate 24 which support a conventional needle cylinder, not shown, for rotary and reciprocatory movement. The machine is also provided with a loose or idle pulley 25, a slow speed pulley 26 (FIGURE 2) and a high speed pulley 27 which are supported on a main drive shaft, not shown, for at times imparting rotation or reciprocation to the needle cylinder in a conventional manner. A manual crank handle 30 is secured to one end of the main drive shaft for at times imparting manual rotation to the machine.

The driving pulleys 25-27 are adapted to be rotated by a drive belt, not shown, in a conventional manner to impart continuous rotation to a gear 32 (FIGURE 1) which is fixed on one end of a stub shaft 33 mounted for rotation in the main frame 22. The stub shaft 33 extends inside of the machine frame 22 and has a gear 34 (FIGURE 2) fixed on the inner end thereof. The gear in off-center relationship and the lower end of the crank arm 35 is connected to a segmental gear 36 (FIGURE 2). The segmental gear 36 is oscillatably mounted on a shaft 40 (FIGURE 1), carried by the main frame 22. The upper portion of the segmental gear 36 engages the conventional reciprocal gear of the machine, not shown, to at times impart reciprocatory motion to the needle cylinder in a conventional manner.

When the machine is in operation, the gear 34 continually rotates so that the crank arm 35 continually reciprocates the segmental gear 36. A chain racking pawl 41 and a drum racking pawl 42 (FIGURE 1) are connected at their rear ends to the lower portion of the segmental gear 36 and their. forward ends respectively engage a chain racking wheel 43 and drum racking wheel 44. The chain racking wheel 43 has an integrally formed sprocket wheel 45 which supports a pattern chain 46 made .up of a plurality of interconnected chain links. The chain racking wheel 43 and sprocket 45 are supported for rotation on a pattern cam shaft 50 (FIGURE 1) which is mounted for rotation in the main frame 22. The drum racking wheel 44 is fixed on the pattern cam shaft 56 and rotation of the sprocket wheel 44 by the pawl 42,'in a conventional manner, imparts step-by-step movement to a main pattern drum 52 (FIGURE 2), through a gear train, including a gear 53 fixed on the inner end of the main pattern drum 52.

'Thegear 32 (FIGURE 1) has a cam 55 fixed thereto which engages the upper end'of'an auxiliary clutch shipper racking'lever or hell crank 56 which is pivotally supported intermediate its ends on the shaft 40. The lower end of the bell crank 56 has a pawl, not shown, adapted to engage and rotate the conventional belt shifter drum of the machine, not shown. Thus, when the machine is in operation, thebell'crank56 will be continually reciprocated by the cam 55 carried on the gear 32.

Also, continuous rotation of the gear 34 will cause the segmental gear 36 to continually reciprocate and impart continuous reciprocation to the pattern chain pawl 41 to thereby continuously rack' the pattern chain 46 in a step-by-step manner. The driving mechanism of the machine is arranged in such a manner that the racking pawl 41 'moves the pattern chain racking wheel 43 one step forward with each four revolutions of the needle cylinder and the pattern chain 46 is advanced one-third the length of one of the chain links with each four courses so that the needle'cylinder makes twelve revolutions for each complete chain link.

"The pattern chain 46 has suitable lugs 47 thereon which engage one end of a pawl controller, not shown, and the other end of the pawl controller controls operation of the pattern drum pa'wldZ. Although the pattern drum pawl 42 is continuously oscillated, it does not continuously rack the drum rack wheel 44 but only racks the same in response to the lugs 47 on the pattern chain 46 to thereby impart step-by-step movement to the main pattern drum 52 during certain portions of operation of the machine, when it is desired to move the main pattern drum 52.

The driving mechanism and pattern chain heretofore described are conventional parts of a Scott & Williams circular hosiery knitting machine such as is shown in the patent to Scott, No. 1,152,850, which may be referred to for aclear showing of the details of the driving mechani'sm, In 'the present application, only those portions of the machine have been shown which are necessary to illustrate the operation of the improved pattern chain idler mechanism 'of the present invention.

Some parts of the improved pattern chain idler of the present invention are very similar to corresponding parts of the pattern chain idler disclosed in said copending application and therefore, where possible, similar reference characters will be applied to the parts which correspond to similar parts in said copending application.

The improved pattern chain idler of the present inven- 5} tion includes a pattern chain control lever 66 (FIG- URES l4) which is pivotally supported intermediate its ends as at 61 on the lower portion of a bearing housing 62 which is in turn fixed to the main frame 22. The forward end of the control lever 6% extends inwardly within the main frame 22 and underlies the pattern chain racking pawl 41. The rear end of the control lever 66 passes through the bifurcated lower end of a vertically disposed connector bar 65 (FIGURES 1 and 4-). The lower portion of the connector bar 65 is supported for vertical movement in the rearmost end portion of a rearward extension 66 of the bearing housing 62. The upper portion of the connector bar 65 is supported for vertical movement in a rearwardly extending portion of an upper support bracket 76 (FIGURES 1 and 2). The support bracket 7t? is preferably cast and extends forwardly with its forward end being fixed on the upper surface of the main frame 22 (FIGURE 1).

The upper end of an electric solenoid 64 is suitably connected to the control lever 61? (FIGURES 1, 2 and 4) and the solenoid 64 is supported on the bearing housing 62 by a bracket 64a. The lower end of the connector bar 65 is provided with first adjustable abutment means in the form of a block 65a (FIGURES 1, 3 and 4) which is secured to the connector bar 65 and has a vertically extending screw 65.) threadably supported therein. The lower end of the screw 65b engages the upper surface of the control lever 6t) and adjustment of the screw 65b will effect relative adjustment between the connector bar 65 and the control lever 60. The rear end of the control lever 60 is normally urged upwardly into the bifurcated lower end of the connector bar 65, into contact with the lower end of the screw 65]), by a tension spring 65c, the lower end of which is connected to the lever 60 and the upper end of which is connected to the rearwardly extending portion 66 of the bearing housing 62.

A second adjustable abutment means in the form of an angle bracket 67 is secured to the connector bar 65 (FIG- URES 1 and 4) and has a vertically extending screw 674i threadably supported therein. The lower end of the screw 67a engages the actuating arm 68 of an electric switch 69 which is supported on the rearwardly extending portion 66 of the bearing housing 62. Vertical movement of the connector bar 65 controls operation of the switch 6% in a manner to be presently described. The connector bar 65 is normally urged upwardly by a tension spring 72 (FIGURES 1 and 2) the lower end of which is suitably connected to the connector bar 65 and the upper end of which is suitably connected to the upper support bracket 79. The upper end of the connector bar 65 is fixed to one end of a control finger positioning plate 74 having a plurality of notches or slots 75 spaced along the upper edge thereof (FIGURE 5). An indicator plate 76 is fixedly secured to and in spaced relation behind the adjustment plate 74 by spacer screws 77, for purposes to be later described.

The rearmost ends of respective leg and foot control fingers 80 and 81 are reduced and adapted to fit into selected ones of the slots 75 in the control finger adjustment plate 74 (FIGURE 5). Media! portions of the leg and foot control fingers 80 and 81 are mounted for pivotal and longitudinal movement on the medial portion of a shaft 84. Opposite ends of the shaft 84 are suitably secured in the upper ends of upstanding spaced arms 35, the lower ends of which are formed integral with the upper support plate 70.

The forward ends of the respective leg and foot control fingers 80 and 81 have reading ends which'are normally urged into resilient engagement with the upper surface of a horizontally disposed rack or pattern wheel (FIG- URE 5) and the control fingers are at times raised by engagement with respective leg cams 91 and foot cams 92 fixed on the upper surface of the rack wheel 9t). The leg and foot control fingers 80 and 81 may be positioned to engage the cams 91 and 92 at different positions, radially of the wheel 94) and thereby vary the length of time that they engage the cams, for purposes to be later explained.

When the forward ends of the leg and/ or foot control fingers 80 and 81 are in engagement with the upper surface of the rack wheel 99, as shown in FIGURE 1, the tension spring 72 will urge the connector bar 65 to its uppermost position, thereby raising the abutment screw 67a, maintaining the switch 69 open (FIGURE 7) and the solenoid 64. Under these conditions, the spring 650 will maintain the forward end of the pattern chain pawl control lever 60 out of engagement with the pattern chain racking pawl 41, as shown in FIGURE 1. When the forward end of the lever 60 is out of engagement with the pawl 41, the conventional driving mechanism of the knitting machine will cause the pawl 41 to impart continual step-by-step movement to the rack wheel 43, sprocket 45 and pattern chain 46.

On the other hand, when either of the control fingers 30 or 81 is raised by the respective cams 91 and 92-, in a manner to be later described, the rear end of the corresponding control finger 80 or 81 will be lowered in FIG- URES 1 and 5 to thereby lower the connector bar 65. Lowering the connector bar 65 will cause the abutment screw 67a to close the switch 69 to thereby complete an electrical circuit to the solenoid 64.

As shown in FIGURE 7, one side of the switch 69 is connected to one side of a suitable electric plug 93 by a wire 93a. The other side of the plug 93 is connected to one side of the solenoid 64 by a wire 93b and the other side of the solenoid 64 is connected to the other side of the switch 69 by a wire 93c.

Thus, when the switch is closed, the solenoid 64 will be actuated and immediately move the forward end of the lever 60 upwardly to engage and raise the pawl 41 out of racking engagement with the teeth on the pattern chain rack wheel 43, as shown in FIGURE 3. Although continual reciprocation is still imparted to the pawl 41, the pattern chain 46, sprocket 45 and the rack wheel 43 will not rotate because the racking pawl 41 is held out of racking engagement with the rack wheel 43 until the leg or foot earns 91 or 92 move out of engagement with the respective control fingers 8t) and 81.

When the control fingers 8G or 81 move off of the cams 91 or 92, the tension spring 72 will raise the connector bar to again open the switch 69 and thereby deactivate the solenoid 64, allowing the spring 650 to move the forward end of the lever 60 to a lower position and out of engagement with the pawl 41, as shown in FIGURE 1. Then the reciprocating pawl 41 will again engage the teeth of the rack wheel 43 and impart continuous step-bystep movement to the pattern chain 46 in the conventional manner.

The manner in which the rack wheel 90 is supported and driven in a step-by-step manner is substantially identical to that described in said copending application and therefore, only a brief description of the rack wheel driving means will be given in the present instance.

The rack wheel 90 is rotatably supported adjacent the upper end of a vertically disposed drive shaft 95 which is at times rotatable independently of rotation of the rack wheel 90. The shaft 95 is rotatably supported adjacent its lower end in the bearing housing 62 (FIGURE 2) and adjacent its upper end in the upper support bracket '70 (FIGURE 6). The upper portion of the shaft 95 has a spacer collar 1110 fixed thereto (FIGURE 1) which supports the vertically disposed shaft 95 on the upper surface of the support bracket 70. The lower portion of the shaft 95 is also provided with a support collar 102 which is fixed thereto (FIGURES l and 2) and which rotatably supports the shaft 95 against the upper surface of the bearing housing 62.

The outer periphery of the rack Wheel 90 is provided with a first series of racking teeth 199, a second series of racking teeth 111) (FIGURE 5), a Wide blank portion 111 and a relatively narrow blank portion 112. The wheel 90 is at times racked by a pawl 113, the outer end of which is pivotally mounted, as at 114, on the outer end of a racking lever 115 (FIGURE 5). The racking lever 115 extends inwardly beneath the racking wheel and its inner end is bent downwardly and fixed to a collar 116 mounted for oscillation on the vertically disposed shaft and above the spacer collar (FIGURE 1).

The free end of the pawl 113 is resiliently urged into engagement with the outer periphery of the rack wheel 90 by a tension spring (FIGURE 6), one end of which is suitably connected intermediate the ends of the pawl 113 and the other end of which is suitably connected intermediate the ends of the racking lever 115. Referring to FIGURE 6, it will be noted that the upper support bracket 70 has an outwardly and upwardly extending arm 70a which slidably supports a vertically movable push rod 121 having an inclined cam surface 122 at its upper end which is adapted to engage one side of a cam block 115a which is adjustably secured to the racking lever 115.

The racking lever 115 is resiliently urged into engagement with the cam surface 122 on the upper end of the vertical push rod 121 by a tension spring 123 (FIGURE 6), one end of which is suitably connected intermediate the ends of the lever 115 and the other end of which is suitably connected to one side of an upstanding arm 124. The upstanding arm 79a supports an adjustable stop screw 128 that bears against and limits rearward movement of the racking lever 115 (FIGURE 6) and a vertically disposed brake element 129, the upper end of which is resiliently urged into engagement with the lower surface of the rack Wheel 99. The arm 70a also has a rack wheel hold-down bracket 127 (FIGURES 1, 2 and 5) adjustably secured thereto.

The lower portion of the push rod 121 (FIGURES 1 and 2) is supported for vertical sliding movement in the lower end of a bracket 130, the upper end of which is suitably supported on the arm 70a. The lower end of the push rod 121 is urged into engagement with the upper cam surfaced end of an actuator lever 131 by a tension spring 132, the upper end of which is suitably secured to a collar 133 fixed on the push rod 121 and the lower end of which is suitably secured to the bracket (FIG- URE 1). The lower end of the actuator lever 131 is oscillatably supported, as at 134, on the bearing housing 62 and the forward surface of the actuator lever 131 is positioned in alinement with and engaged. by the upper arm of the bell crank 56 (FIGURE 1). Thus, oscillation is imparted to the actuator lever 131 with rotation of the gear 32 and engagement of the bell crank 56 by the cam 55 carried on the continually rotating gear 32.

During operation of the machine, the push rod 121 is continuously reciprocated up and down to impart continuous oscillation to the lever 115 and the racking pawl 113. Thus, the pawl 113 will impart step-by-step rotation to the rack wheel 91) until the blank portions 111, 112 are engaged by the racking pawl 113.

At times, the rack wheel 90 is rotated by movement of the main pattern drum 52 to impart rotation to the vertical drive shaft 95. To this end, the lower end of the shaft 95 has a bevel gear (FIGURES 1 and 2) fixed thereto which mates with a bevel gear 141, fixed on one end of a horizontal drive shaft 142. The drive shaft 142 is rotatably mounted in the bearing housing 62 and a bearing member 143 (FIGURE 2) which is secured to the rear of the frame 22. The end of the horizontal shaft 142 opposite the bevel gear 141 has a pinion 144 fixed thereto which mates with the drive gear 53 on the inner end of the main pattern drum 52. Thus, any time that step-by-step movement is imparted to the main pattern drum 52, in a conventional manner, rotation will be imparted to the vertically disposed shaft 95 through the gear arrangement just described.

The upper end of the drive shaft 95 has a starter block (FIGURE 5) fixedly secured thereto and the block extends upwardly above the upper face of the rack wheel 91). The starter block 150 supports first and second L- shaped arms 151 and 152 which are pivotally supported in slots cut in the upper surface of the starter block 1511 (FIGURE The inner end of the arm 152 crosses over the inner end of the arm 151 and the outer ends of both arms 151, 152 extend downwardly and closely adjaceut the outer periphery of'the starter block 150. The lower ends of the arms 151 and 152 are normally urged downwardly against the outer periphery of the starter block 150 by the upper end of a spring pressed pin, not shown, which is supported in the starter block 150.

The rack wheel 90 is provided with a first starter pin 160 (FIGURE 5), the lower end of which is fixed in the upper surface of the rack wheel 90 and the upper end of which is adapted to be engaged by the first starter arm 151 with rotation of the shaft 95 and the starter block 150. A second starter pin 161 is secured for vertical movement in the rack wheel 91 and is normally urged to its lowermost position by a spring wire 164- (FIGURE 5), one end of which penetrates the pin 161 and the other end of which is suitably secured to the upper surface of the rack wheel 90 by a screw 165. It wil lbe noted in FIGURE 6 that a cam plate 166 is secured to one side of the upstanding arm 124 and with'rotation of the rack wheel, the lower end of the vertically movable starter pin 161 will engage and move up the cam 166 to therby raise the pin 161 against the spring pressure of the wire 164 to its upper'level, for purposes to be later described.

Operation When the improved pattern chain idler of the present I invention is added to a circular hosiery knitting machine,

tion is employed to stop movement of the pattern chain 46 for any desired length of time during the knitting of the leg and/ or foot to thereby vary the size of the hose being knit in accordance with the length of time that racking of the pattern chain 46 is discontinued.

Before starting the knitting of a hose, the respective leg and foot control fingers 80 and 81 are manually moved and set in the proper location to produce the desired number of courses in the leg and foot of the hose. The control fingers 80 and 81 may be shifted longitudinally along the shaft 84 (FIGURE 5), to aline their forward or reading ends with the portions of the leg and foot cams 91 and 92 which will cause the racking of the pattern chain to be discontinued for the desired length of time. The fingers 80 and 81 can be moved on the shaft 84 by merely pushing downwardly on the plate 74 to thus lower the connector bar 55 against the tension spring 72 and thereby move the rear ends of the control fingers 3t and 81 out of the slot 75 provided in the upper edge of the plate 74.

It will be noted in FIGURE 5 that the leg control finger 80 is positioned in the third notch from the upper end of the plate 74 while the foot control finger 81 is positioned in the third notch from the lower end of the plate 74. With the control fingers St and 81 set in this position, they will pass over the respective leg and foot earns 91 and 92 along the respective dash-dot lines 171 and 172 and a hose having a relatively long leg and a size 10 foot will be produced. The knitting of one hose will be described with the control fingers 80, 81 set in this position.

' $3 in a continuous step-by-step manner one-third of the length of one link with each four courses of knitting.

As soon as the machine begins to operate, the bell crank 56 (FIGURE 1) will impart movement to the actuator lever 131 to thereby impart continuous vertical reciprocation to the push rod 121 which will in turn impart continuous reciprocation to the racking pawl 113. However, as shown in FIGURE 5, the blank portion 111 of the rack wheel is positioned opposite the pawl 113 and therefore, the racking pawl 113 will not advance the racking wheel 90 until the same is rotated far enough to position the teeth 109 beneath the racking pawl 113.

During the knitting of the welt of the hose, the pattern drum 5?. is rotated in a step-by-step manner, through means of the racking pawl 42, to effect yarn changes, transfer of stitch loops from the hooks in the dial to the cylinder needles and other conventional operations. As rotation is imparted to the main pattern drum 52, rotation will be imparted to the gear 144 (FIGURE 2), shaft 142, gears 14-1 and 145, vertical shaft 95, starter block and to the first and second starter arms 151 and 152. As rotation is imparted to the starter block 15h, in a clockwise direction in FIGURE 5, the first starter arm 151 will engage the first starter pin 16% to irnpart clockwise rotation to the rack wheel 90 as the main pattern drum 52 is rotated.

The rack wheel 913 is rotated from the position shown in FIGURE 3 to a position where the racking pawl 113 1 will engage the first of the teeth 1199 on the outer periphery of the racking wheel )0. As has heretofore been explained, the racking pawl 113 is continuously reciprocated so that it will then rotate the rack wheel 90 in a clockwise direction and in a step-by-step manner.

As the rack wheel 90 is moved by the racking pawl 113, the forward end of the leg control finger 8%) will be raised as it moves onto the leg cam 91, in the position indicated by the dash-dot line 171. When the forward end of the leg control finger 81 moves up onto t.-e leg cam 91, the control finger 4'90 will be rocked about the shaft 84 in a clockwise direction in FIGURE 1, thus lowering the rearmost end thereof and lowering the plate '74 and the connector bar 65.

Lowering of the connector bar 65 will close the switch 69 to immediately activate the solenoid 64 and raise the forward end of'the control member so to thereby raise and hold the pattern chain racking pawl 41 out of racking engagement with the teeth on the ratchet 43, thereby stopping movement of the pattern chain, until the leg control finger 89 moves off of the leg cam 91. It will be noted in FIGURE 5 that the leg cam 1 is formed in one piece and is stepped in at its outer edge so that the length of time that the forward end of the control finger 8% is held in raised position will vary, according to the radial position of the finger Sit. Thus, the length of time that the chain racking pawl 41 is held out of engagement with the ratchet 43 will vary in accordance with the length of time that the forward end of the leg control finger is raised by the leg cam 91.

With continued movement of the racking wheel 91 the pawl 113 will move into the blank portion 112, which is devoid of teeth, and the racking wheel 90 will stop rotating. By this time, the forward end of the leg control finger 8h will have moved off of the leg cam 91 and the chain pawl 41 will be again imparting movement to the pattern chain 46 in a step-by-step manner.

As the rack wheel 911 is moved by the pawl 113, the first starter pin 16% will move away from the first starter arm 151 and the second vertically movable starter pin 161 will engage and be raised by the cam 166 on the arm 124 as it passes over the same. 90 stops, as the pawl 113 engages the blank portion 112, the lower surface of the pin 161 will be resting upon the upper surface of the earn 166 so that the upper end of the pin 161 will be positioned at a higher than normal elevation.

When ,the Wheel While the pawl 113 is in engagement with the blank portion 112 of the racking wheel 90, the heel pocket of the hose is being knit. During the knitting of the heel pocket, the main pattern drum 52 is rotated in a step-bystep conventional manner to switch needles, actuate the widening and narrowing picks, make yarn changes, etc.

With movement of the pattern drum 52, the starter block 150 will be rotated in a clockwise direction until the second starter arm 152 engages the raised pin 161 and thereby rotate the rack wheel 90 to a position where the teeth 110 on the outer periphery of the rack Wheel 90 are engaged by the working end of the racking pawl 113. The racking pawl 113 will then impart continuous stepby-step movement to the rack wheel 90 in a clockwise direction.

As step-by-step movement is imparted to the rack wheel 90 by the racking pawl 113, the inner end of the foot control finger 81 will move up onto the foot cam 92 and in alinement with the dash-dot line 172 to thereby rock the foot control finger 81 in a clockwise direction in FIGURE 1. Rocking the foot control finger 81 will lower the connector bar 65 to close the switch 69 and thereby immediately activate the solenoid 64. The solenoid 64 will immediately raise the forward end of the pattern chain pawl control lever 60 to thereby raise the pattern chain pawl 41 out of racking engagement with the ratchet 43 and immediately idle or stop movement of the pattern chain 46. It will be noted in FIGURE that the foot cam 92 is also formed in one piece and the outer edge is stepped to vary the length of time that the finger 81 is raised by the cam 92, according to the radial position of the finger 81. Thus, the foot control finger 81 can be moved into alinement with different portions of the foot cam 92 to idle the pattern chain 46 for the desired length of time.

As the forward end of the foot control finger 81 moves off of the foot cam 92, the tension spring 72 (FIGURE 1) will raise the connector bar 65, thus allowing the switch 69 to move to open position, thereby breaking the electrical circuit to the solenoid 64. Then the tension spring 650 will immediately lower the forward end of the control member 60 so that the pattern chain racking pawl 41 will be lowered into engagement with the ratchet 43 and then the pawl 41 will again impart step-by-step movement to the pattern chain 46. The racking pawl 113 will continue step-by-step racking movement of the rack wheel 90 until the blank portion 111 is reached and then the racking wheel 90 will be back in proper position to start the knitting of the next succeeding hose.

As has been noted, the leg cams 91 and foot earns 92 on the upper surface of the rack wheel 90 are stepped inwardly at their outer edges and the control fingers 80 and 81 may be shifted longitudinally on the shaft 84 to aline them with different portions of the cams to thereby idle the patern chain 46 for the desired length of time during the knitting of corresponding portions of the leg and/or foot of the hose. Also, the fingers 80 and 81 can be moved to a position where the forward ends will be out of alinement with either of the cams 91 or 92. With the fingers 8t) and 81 in this position, the pattern chain 46 will be racked continuously throughout the knitting of the hose without being idled and the machine will knit the shortest hose possible.

The inner ends of the starter arms 151 and 152 are resiliently urged upwardly toward the obeserver in FIG- URE 5 by a spring, not shown, so that their outer ends engage the respective pins 160 and 161 and rotate the rack wheel 90 in a clockwise direction in FIGURE 5, in the manner heretofore described. The lower portion of the outer end of the starter arm 152 is provided with a cam surface so that the pins 160 and 161 may pass therebeneath when the rack wheel 90 is turned by hand in a counterclockwise direction to reset the same. Then, when the fixed starter pin 160 engages the cam surface on the lower end of the starter arm 152, it will be raised up and the pin 160 will pass therebeneath.

In order to change the length of the leg and/or foot of the hose with the present pattern chain idler, it is merely necessary for an operator to move the control fingers and 81 longitudinally along the shaft 82 to the proper position before commencing the knitting of a hose. This operation requires only a few seconds of time and is much more accurate than the previous practice of adding or removing links in different portions of the pattern chain 46. It will also be noted that the control fingers 80 and 81 are positioned above the main frame of the machine and in a clear and easy accessible position.

In the present improved pattern chain idler accurate and immediate operation of the control arm 60 is insured by the electric solenoid 64 and the operation of the control switch 69 can be accurately controlled by adjustment of the abutment screw 67a. With the present idler mechanism the pattern controlled device, including the pattern wheel 90, the earns 91 and 92, the control fingers 80, 81, and the connector bar 65, merely act as a signaling means and the pattern means can operate without re sistance since its only function is to actuate the control switch 69. Once the switch 69 is actuated, the solenoid 64 acts to lift the pawl 41 out of racking engagement with the ratchet 43 and idle the pattern chain 46.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, a1- though specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a circular hosiery knitting machine having a pattern chain comprising a plurality of interconnected links with each link normally representing a predetermined number of courses to be knit in the hose, a rotatable sprocket drivingly supporting said chain, a ratchet carried by said sprocket, a pawl normally positioned in racking engagement with said ratchet, and means continuously imparting reciprocation to said pawl to normally move said pattern chain in a uniform step-by-step manner, the combination therewith of a pattern chain idler comprising (1) a movable control member positioned adjacent said pawl and being operable to at times move said pawl out of racking engagement with said ratchet and thereby prevent movement of said pattern chain,

(2) a solenoid operatively connected to said control member for controlling movement thereof,

(3) a switch connected to said solenoid for controlling movement thereof, and

(4) pattern controlled means operatively connected to said switch for at times actuating said switch to in turn actuate said solenoid and operate said control member to thus move said pawl out of racking engagement with said ratchet for predetermined intervals of time during the knitting of selected portions of the hose and thereby increase the effective length of said pattern chain and correspondingly increase the number of courses knit in the selected portions of the hose in accordance with the length of time said control member maintains said pawl out of racking engagement with said ratchet.

2. In a pattern chain idler according to claim 1 wherein said pattern controlled means includes (1) a movable control rod having a bifurcated end straddling said control member, and

(2) adjustable abutment means carried by said control rod and engageable with said control member for limiting the amount of inward movement of said control member into the bifurcated end of said control rod.

3. In a circular hosiery knitting machine having a 1 1 pattern chain comprising a plurality of interconnected links with each link normally representing a predetermined number of courses to be knit in the hose, and means including a reciprocating pawl for normally advancing said pattern chain in a uniform step-by-step manner, the combination therewith of a pattern chain idler comprising (1) a movable control member having one end positioned adjacent and engageable with said pawl, said control member being operable to at times move said pawl to an inoperative position and thereby prevent movement of said pattern chain,

(2) a solenoid connected to said control member and being operable to at times move said control member,

(3) a switch connected to said solenoid for controlling movement thereof, and

(4) pattern controlled means operatively connected to said switch for at times actuating said switch to in turn actuate said solenoid and operate said control member to thus move said pawl to the inoperative position for a predetermined interval of time and thereby increase the eifective length of said pattern chain and correspondingly increase the number of courses knit in a selected portion of the hose in accordance with the length of time said pawl remains in the inoperative position.

4. In a circular hosiery knitting machine having a pattern chain comprising a plurality'of interconnected links with each link normally representing a predetermined number of courses to be knit in the hose, and means including a reciprocating pawl for normally advancing said pattern chain in a uniform step-by-step manner, the combination therewith of a pattern chain idlercomprising (1) a movable control member positioned adjacent said pawl and being operable to at times move said pawlto an inoperative position and prevent movement of said pattern chain,

(2) a solenoid operatively connected to said control member and being operable to at times move said control member,

(3) a switch connected to said solenoid for controlling a movement thereof,

(4) pattern controlled means comprising (a) a pattern wheel supported on said machine,

(b) drive means. for imparting rotation to said pattern wheel,

(c) cam means carried by said pattern wheel, and

(d) means operatively connected to said switch and engageable by said cam means for at times actuating said switch to in turn actuate said solenoid and operate said control member to thus move said pawl to the inoperative position for predetermined intervals of time during the knitting of selected portions of the hose and thereby increase the eifective length of said pattern chain and correspondingly increase the number of courses knit in selected portions of the hose in accordance with the length of time a said pawl remains in the inoperative position.

5. In a pattern chain idler according to claim 4 wherein-said cam means includes (1) first and second sets of cams carried by said pattern wheel, and

' (2) said means operatively connected to said switch and engageable by said cam means includes first and second control fingers respectively engageable by said first and second sets of cams and operatively connectbination therewith of a pattern chain idler comprising (1) a movable control member engageable at one end with said pawl and being operable to at times move said pawl to an inoperative position and prevent movement of said pattern chain,

(2) a solenoid operatively connected to said control member and being operable to at times move said control member,

(3) a switch connected to said solenoid for controlling movement thereof,

(4) a pattern wheel supported on said machine,

(t5) drive means for imparting rotation to said pattern wheel,

(6) cam means carried by said pattern wheel,

(7) a control finger engageable at one end by said cam means,

(8) a control rod connected at one end to the other end of said control finger and having a bifurcated opposite end straddling the other end of said control member,

(9) first adjustable abutment means carried by said control rod and engageable with said other end of said control member for limiting the amount of inward movement of said control member into the bifurcated end of said control rod,'and

(10) second adjustable abutment means carried by said control rod and movable with said control rod for actuating said switch in response to movement of said control rod to in turn actuate said solenoid and operate said control member to thus move said pawl to the inoperative position for a predetermined interval of time and thereby increase the effective length of said pattern chain and correspondingly increase the number of courses knit in a selected portion of the hose in accordance with the length of time said pawl remains in the inoperative position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,238,820 Page Apr. 15, 1941 2,243,777 Page May 27, 1941 2,436,468 Bristow Feb. 24, 1948 2,463,639 Peberdy Mar. 8, 1949 2,841,970 Saunders July 8, 1958 2,927,447 Mahler Mar. 8, 1960 V FOREIGN PATENTS 718,816 Germany Mar. 21, 1942 

1. IN A CIRCULAR HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE HAVING A PATTERN CHAIN COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF INTERCONNECTED LINKS WITH EACH LINK NORMALLY REPRESENTING A PREDETERMINED NUMBER OF COURSES TO BE KNIT IN THE HOSE, A ROTATABLE SPROCKET DRIVINGLY SUPPORTING SAID CHAIN, A RATCHET CARRIED BY SAID SPROCKET, A PAWL NORMALLY POSITIONED IN RACKING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RATCHET, AND MEANS CONTINUOUSLY IMPARTING RECIPROCATION TO SAID PAWL TO NORMALLY MOVE SAID PATTERN CHAIN IN A UNIFORM STEP-BY-STEP MANNER, THE COMBINATION THEREWITH OF A PATTERN CHAIN IDLER COMPRISING (1) A MOVABLE CONTROL MEMBER POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID PAWL AND BEING OPERABLE TO AT TIMES MOVE SAID PAWL OUT OF RACKING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RATCHET AND THEREBY PREVENT MOVEMENT OF SAID PATTERN CHAIN, (2) A SOLENOID OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID CONTROL MEMBER FOR CONTROLLING MOVEMENT THEREOF, (3) A SWITCH CONNECTED TO SAID SOLENOID FOR CONTROLLING MOVEMENT THEREOF, AND (4) PATTERN CONTROLLED MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID SWITCH FOR AT TIMES ACTUATING SAID SWITCH TO IN TURN ACTUATE SAID SOLENOID AND OPERATE SAID CONTROL MEMBER TO THUS MOVE SAID PAWL OUT OF RACKING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RATCHET FOR PREDETERMINED INTERVALS OF TIME DURING THE KNITTING OF SELECTED PORTIONS OF THE HOSE AND THEREBY INCREASE THE EFFECTIVE LENGTH OF SAID PATTERN CHAIN AND CORRESPONDINGLY INCREASE THE NUMBER OF COURSES KNIT IN THE SELECTED PORTIONS OF THE HOSE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LENGTH OF TIME SAID CONTROL MEMBER MAINTAINS SAID PAWL OUT OF RACKING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID RATCHET. 